It's no surprise that brandies have often been used in cocktails royale and these two drinks are excellent examples of the form. They have the same basic underlying concept: a champagne cocktail with absinthe and bitters and a bit of brandy (apple for the Deauville, grape for the Casino). I also give the option here of using pineapple syrup, which is a nod to the 1925 drink, Train Bleu, as well as Harry Johnson's Gilded-Age Saratoga spec.

Gaëtan Lassale is one of my oldest friends. We studied in Canterbury, England, together back in the early aughts. Gaëtan grew up in a village in the south of France, eating dinner with his family on the terrace every night in the summer. They ate lots of grilled meat and vegetables, along with ratatouille and aubergines in tomato sauce, which were prepared in the cooler morning hours and served cold in the evening. His grandmother liked to beat the heat by drinking the anise-flavored spirit pastis with chilled water ─ a popular drink in Marseille.